So what does this history have to do with pen pals and their growth in popularity? Well, with the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals were cut off from their loved ones and had little-to-no face-to-face interaction with others.

Thus, many people turned to email for important communication needs and texting or direct messaging for more casual conversations. Internet communication also brought with it the advantage of reducing the risk of others knowing someone’s direct address and sending potentially threatening or harmful items through the postal system. What came to be referred to as “snail mail” by internet users was much slower and often less reliable than emails, faxing, and direct messaging. With the creation and common use of the internet came the downfall and decline of physical mail. Inventions such as trains and railways allowed for mail to be disseminated much faster and thus led to an increase in overall mail being sent as people received responses much quicker than before. As writing and transportation systems evolved and grew, the process of sending mail itself began to change and evolve alongside it. The state-sponsored postal system itself can be traced back to Egypt where pharaohs would send decrees, keep up with taxes, and gain information about far-reaching parts of their kingdom through a courier system. The advent of mail and sending others letters or items with messages written on them can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia. What was once the most common and quickest way to exchange information and get to know others has become primarily used to receive bills and packages and influxes of university promotion mail. Many older people often complain about the lack of real, physical mail and communication due to the popularity and mainstream-ness of the internet.

Now, it’s no secret that the age of postage mail has long since passed and faded. Soon, I became entranced and spent hours watching such videos, sometimes while doing other chores or homework. I’ve been bullet journaling for almost two years now and have been watching those kinds of videos for just as long, so it certainly wasn’t a complete surprise to me to see those pen pal videos. Of course, this didn’t come out of nowhere. Specifically, pen pal opening or writing videos with little to no commentary and soothing background music. In the past year or so, I’ve noticed an increase in a particular type of video that shows up on my recommended page on YouTube. Pen pals are growing in popularity again.

Penpals - tell me why video